This Bridge is Old, Like You! - A July 2017 and April 2018 TR *Completed + New TR Link Posted
- Thread starter amazingact21
- Start date
afwdwfan
DIS Dad #460
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2010
That's rough... sorry the kids made things so difficult. But at least you did get to visit Ireland and now know what you want to do if you ever get to go back. Makes sense... but at least it will be an opportunity to come back and visit home again for a few days!
Not that I ever questioned for one second that this would happen too.
That's funny! But great that he's getting so much exposure to another culture and able to use the language interchangeably. I laugh, only because I've been there. Maybe not on that ride, but kids... 
In any case, I'm glad he got to ride it and meet Peter Pan!!!
OH!!! I know where you're going!!!!!!
thumper*
Disney Dreamer
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2010
So I finally got around to binge reading your TR
Happy Alex is back home. I'm an Army brat and all too familiar with a missing parent.
Ireland looks beautiful hopefully you'll be able to make it back.
Stateside for a short vacay in 2018...great even if it's quick.
Yay for your upcoming Disney Paris. Our bus from the Paris airport took us by all of the resorts there, they seemed very small and not as well themed as Orlando (maybe even a lil dingy)
Love your organization.
I hear you that's what time I'll be waking on Wed morning to start our long drive down to Disney.
I loved the autobahn...wish drivers here were as good as there.
Was 1 side International and the other domestic? That's the way the Paris airport is.
When we were in Europe in 2013, all the food was great with the exception of the steaks.
Well so do some of us adults.
Awe poor thing.
Happy Alex is back home. I'm an Army brat and all too familiar with a missing parent.
Ireland looks beautiful hopefully you'll be able to make it back.
Stateside for a short vacay in 2018...great even if it's quick.
Yay for your upcoming Disney Paris. Our bus from the Paris airport took us by all of the resorts there, they seemed very small and not as well themed as Orlando (maybe even a lil dingy)
missangelalexis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
Yay for having a potential Disney day coming up next year!
Landon's love for Peter Pan is adorable. I'm glad he had a great time on the ride and meeting Peter!
Evie on the other hand... haha poor girl wasn't having it at all! I'm sorry that you had to deal with all that.
Landon's love for Peter Pan is adorable. I'm glad he had a great time on the ride and meeting Peter!
Evie on the other hand... haha poor girl wasn't having it at all! I'm sorry that you had to deal with all that.
luvpoohandcompany
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2009
Your family photo in Ireland made me smile. Misty and mizzley (rain). Our rain falls so softly compared to the rain in Florida doesn’t it. I’m sorry the kids didn’t let you see all that you wanted to but maybe someday you’ll get a do-over. I remember family holidays in Dingle and Killarney as a kid when I’d be totally baffled as my parents oohed and aahed over the scenery and I’d be like “ green mountain/ lake, ugh, boring!!” Now I’m the one oohing and aahing!
Landon looks so so happy especially with his idol Peter
Poor Evie not so much. Glad dumbo was a success at least
Love that Landon is multilingual. I’ll bet he confused everyone lol
Landon looks so so happy especially with his idol Peter
Poor Evie not so much. Glad dumbo was a success at least
Love that Landon is multilingual. I’ll bet he confused everyone lol
amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
I'm sorry the kids were so unhappy on your trip to Ireland! Hopefully you'll get to go back someday and experience it as adults, or with the kids when they're older. It looks beautiful!
That's hilarious!! I love that your kids have already seen so much of the world at such young ages!
This is amazing! I can't wait to see his reaction to his favourite!
I have a feeling I know where this is going...
Kids always find things to complain about, but nine times out of ten once we're back home they won't be quiet about how much they loved the trip. If someone were to ask Landon how Ireland was, he'd say, "I loved it!"
Oh, the meet and greet with his favorite was something special.
Landon is the best Disney buddy! He makes my trips extra magical.
Sounds like this is a recurring theme with the daughter of the trip report threads. Hopefully as they get older they outgrow this and become our Disney companions.
Sometimes, I prefer waiting in character lines over rides (if I had to choose) because at least with the characters I get to watch people's reactions during their meet and greet. Most of the time I'm smiling and in a good mood before my turn is up. Seeing people happy is a great feeling.
amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
I don't think I ever really stopped to think about Evie's personality and how she'd react to Disney. I just went in with the mindset of "Well, Landon loves everything about the parks, Evie probably will to." As the trip wore on, my mom and I kept commenting that Evie would much rather be back at home, taking walks through our quiet little village, feeding the sheep and goats with nobody else around her.
Makes sense... but at least it will be an opportunity to come back and visit home again for a few days!
Not that I ever questioned for one second that this would happen too.
In any case, I'm glad he got to ride it and meet Peter Pan!!!
OH!!! I know where you're going!!!!!!
I love that the kids are getting to travel so much. Sure, it makes it challenging for Alex and me but it's worth it in the long run. Growing up military, I had a lot of fellow military kids in my classes and the ones that bragged the most were the ones who lived overseas when they were younger. I can still remember how every single one of them would go on and on about this place or that. It made me really wish my dad had been stationed overseas when I was around. (My parents lived in Italy for 4 years but moved back stateside when my older brother was 1.) So I'm hoping Landon and Evie will carry those fond memories with them as they get older.
It's probably no surprise to anyone where my next stop is!
I used to be terrified of the autobahn, now I love it! Driving back in the states was stressful after dealing with great European drivers.
I'm not sure, perhaps. I know the terminals are separated by airlines at Frankfurt, so that would make sense.
You definitely don't come to Europe to eat their steaks!
Everything about Disneyland Paris is different. They are not quite as in-depth as the WDW ones are, but they're still nice. I think the resorts look better from the backside of the buildings. When you're standing by the water in the middle of their little semi-circle and can see Newport Bay, Sequoia, Hotel New York, and Disney Village in a panorama it feels more Disney-Esq.
I love that Landon loves Peter Pan, because that just sums him up in a nutshell. This charismatic little guy who wants to go on adventures and stay young forever.
Your family photo in Ireland made me smile. Misty and mizzley (rain). Our rain falls so softly compared to the rain in Florida doesn’t it. I’m sorry the kids didn’t let you see all that you wanted to but maybe someday you’ll get a do-over. I remember family holidays in Dingle and Killarney as a kid when I’d be totally baffled as my parents oohed and aahed over the scenery and I’d be like “ green mountain/ lake, ugh, boring!!” Now I’m the one oohing and aahing!
Landon looks so so happy especially with his idol Peter
Poor Evie not so much. Glad dumbo was a success at least
Love that Landon is multilingual. I’ll bet he confused everyone lol
Haha, the Ireland rain is a lot like Germany's. Just enough to make things wet and soggy but not enough to stop you from going about your business.
The kids had zero interest in the sites; they were more excited to walk the trails and climb rocks. Priorities...
Ireland was beautiful, though. Alex and I are so, so happy we were able to visit while over here. Some of those sights, like Ladies View, we kept telling ourselves we must be two lucky people, to be able to get to see it with our own eyes.
amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
July 21st, Part 4:
You guys are pretty savvy, did you know that? I don’t think any of you had trouble guessing where I was taking Landon after the Peter Pan Meet and Greet.
Probably because I’ve talked about this attraction in every single trip report I’ve ever written. Even the ones where I was pregnant or the trips that coincided with a refurb I still found a way to throw in a comment here and there about one of my favorite coasters at Disney World.
But who can blame me, really?
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is amazing.
It’s a classic attraction with fun theming, mild thrills, and one heck of a view of Cinderella’s Castle. The last time I had been able to ride Thunder was during MVMCP in 2014, and the experience was completely ruined by a group of teenage girls sitting behind me as they chose to scream as hard as humanely possible the entire time. That was such a letdown that I don’t like to count it. Instead, I omit it and tell people my last Thunder journey was in 2013.
Four years!
Can you believe it?
I had been back to the MK probably around 6 times and something was always preventing me from riding the attraction. (I’m looking at you, kids.) So you better believe I nabbed a Fastpass for this attraction the second I was able. And when Landon hit 40 inches at a doctor’s appointment less than a month before our trip?
Oh man, fireworks were exploding in my head.
It was here! Finally here! Landon had reached the age where we could start taking him on big kid rides! Honestly, the day had taken its sweet time getting there. Landon had turned four the previous April and was in the bottom two percentile for height. Always the shortest in a group of kids his age, Alex and I were beginning to wonder if he’d ever make it on a coaster. (Just to give you something to laugh at: Landon is STILL at 40 inches while his two year old sister is sitting at 34.5 inches. We’ve got bets on when she’s going to loom over him.)
After saying goodbye to Peter Pan, I fetched my mom and Evie and walked them over to the entrance to Big Thunder. She stood there with me long enough to get a Rider Swap then went off to search for a shaded spot to sit and wait.
For all the excitement over being tall enough to ride, nobody checked Landon’s height! Which, honestly, surprised me because as we walked past the checkpoint at the loading docks it didn’t look like Landon was tall enough. We just did a cursory walk past, but I swear it looked like Landon’s head fell under the wooden piece the served as the cutoff. That, in turn, made me a little nervous. I stood in our corral thinking, “Oh gosh, what if he’s too small to ride this? What if he gets hurt?”
To be on the safe side, I got him seated in our car, pulled the lap bar down tight, and proceeded to clamp him down next to me with an iron death grip. Kid wasn’t flying anywhere on my watch!
Landon was feeling particularly grown up and mature during this event. He couldn’t believe he was getting to ride a serious coaster, something his little sister couldn’t do yet, and he was able to spend some time alone with his mom. When we were given the clear to go, Landon turned into a pile of giggles. There were a lot of “whoa’s” and “Ahh’s” and a couple “Oh no’s!” but mostly it was laughter. The kind that comes from the belly and is uncontrollable and 100% infectious. I recorded some of our ride experience so Alex could feel a part of it, and it’s one of my favorite mementos from the trip. My little man, happy and carefree…
However, I did switch to camera mode and attempt to grab some pictures of Landon’s reaction.
And the scenery:
And if there was ever any doubt about where Landon’s fascination of Thunder stemmed from, I’ve got photographic evidence that it was in his genes:
No shame in my Big Thunder love.
It was safe to say Landon was blown away by the attraction.
He loved it so much that he asked me if we could ride it again. I told him we had to go back and check on Nana and Evie, make sure they weren’t laid out on the Frontierland sidewalk from heat exhaustion, which was an acceptable answer. Mainly because Landon needed to tell his Nana all about the awesome ride he just experienced.
The ladies were doing great, all things considered, and I asked my mom if she wanted to use the Rider Swap to take Landon for another turn. I would have let her, obviously, but I’m not ashamed to admit I was happy when she declined and told me to take him again.
Hooray!
We used that bad boy for another round and Landon STILL wasn’t asked to be checked for his height. Not sure what the deal was that morning, but I beginning to worry that the next coaster we went on he would be checked and declined. And I’m sorry, the only thing worse than being turned away from a ride you were hoping to go on is getting to do said ride once, THEN being turned away.
When you tell Landon something, you might as well engrave it in stone because there’s no wavering once he gets a truth in his head. You tell him gym time starts at 10:30 on Thursdays, by gosh you better be in that gymnasium come Thursday morning. (This might or might not have been an issue Alex and I encountered with his teachers this year…If any of you guys watch This is Us, the episode where Randall couldn’t waver from his Halloween route? Yeah, two different family members commented that the scene reminded them of Landon.) My kid isn’t flexible, so if you say he can go on attractions with a 40” height requirement, by golly he can go on them til the end of time.
And yes, I know I could have requested they check his height before riding, but I completely forgot that little fact in the moment. All the Disney magic and pixie dust befuddled my brain and made that idea slip through my head.
It was what it was, Landon got to ride Big Thunder Mountain twice, I’d deal with the potential repercussions later.
During my Fastpass window for Thunder, my mom had a pass for Jungle Cruise. We walked over to Adventureland so my mom could ride, then I found an empty patch of sidewalk near the Magic Carpets to sit and wait.
My mom had packed four of those portable fans and they became lifesavers throughout the week. One of them had Frozen characters on it and the blades lit up when you turned it on, and that constantly became our bargaining chip.
“You want the Frozen fan? Then you better sit in the stroller and hush up.”
During Landon’s first few coaster rides and my mom’s jungle excursion, Evie remained fast asleep in the stroller.
I thought she had slept pretty well the night before, but I guess she needed more rest!
About half an hour later my mom found me and we started talking about lunch options. Typically, we go to Pinocchio’s for pizza but neither of us really wanted to backtrack to Fantasyland. My mom used to love the taco salads at Pecos Bill but Disney changed the menu a few years ago and we hadn’t been back. New dishes always come with a risk, but it was the closest food location and I had heard positive reviews of the new menu. So I convinced my mom to give it a shot, found an empty table in the dining room, and left her with the kids to go order.
Landon got an Uncrustable sandwich, carrot sticks, and applesauce while Evie got Mac and Cheese, carrot sticks, and applesauce. Evie woke up right as I was returning with the food and my choices were met with minimal complaints. Landon doesn’t like applesauce but Evie does, so I just packed his away to give to her as a snack later in the day.
I went with the fajita platter and my mom picked the nachos.
Both food selections were solid. My rice was a little hard, like it needed to be cooked longer, and my tortillas were old. To the point where I really should have taken them back and requested fresher ones, but other than that the dishes were good. My mom didn’t think the nachos were better than the previous taco salad, but she’d also order them again if she needed to.
I understand that wasn’t one of my better lunch descriptions but to be honest, I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to my meal while I was eating. Right after I returned with the trays and noticed Evie stirring in the stroller, I set off in search of a high chair to put her in. I finally found one and brought it to our table but needed to lift it up and over to a freed area of the table.
Easy enough.
I grabbed the seat, raised it up and over Landon’s head…
And right when my hands were occupied my shorts decided to take a lunch break of their own and cut out for a few minutes.
It suddenly became quite breezy in Pecos Bill.
The thing I vividly remember from that moment is my mom’s eyes growing large and her cheeks turning bright red. She went, “Alicia!” and made to stand up but the minute I realized what had happened, I pretended everything was completely normal and finished my arch of the high chair. I shrugged my shoulders, pulled my bottoms back up, and sat down like that kind of blooper happened all the time.
Nothing to see here, folks.
Move along, move along.
I got Evie situated in the chair, opened Landon’s sandwich, and covered my face with my hands as my mom and I burst into laughter. My mom ended up with tears in her eyes as she tried to tell me about this poor gentleman sitting next to us who began looking at the floor, at the ceiling, at the overflowing trashcan. Anywhere but directly ahead of him.
I sure gave the guests in that establishment something to talk about…
What’s a family vacation without a lot of mortification?
Needless to say those shorts got packed away in the bottom of the suitcase and were not used again during the trip.
(Well, they were washed first, THEN packed away. No need to let stinky clothes hang out in my bag all week...)
Up Next…A Guest Appearance…Kind Of
You guys are pretty savvy, did you know that? I don’t think any of you had trouble guessing where I was taking Landon after the Peter Pan Meet and Greet.
Probably because I’ve talked about this attraction in every single trip report I’ve ever written. Even the ones where I was pregnant or the trips that coincided with a refurb I still found a way to throw in a comment here and there about one of my favorite coasters at Disney World.
But who can blame me, really?
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is amazing.
It’s a classic attraction with fun theming, mild thrills, and one heck of a view of Cinderella’s Castle. The last time I had been able to ride Thunder was during MVMCP in 2014, and the experience was completely ruined by a group of teenage girls sitting behind me as they chose to scream as hard as humanely possible the entire time. That was such a letdown that I don’t like to count it. Instead, I omit it and tell people my last Thunder journey was in 2013.
Four years!
Can you believe it?
I had been back to the MK probably around 6 times and something was always preventing me from riding the attraction. (I’m looking at you, kids.) So you better believe I nabbed a Fastpass for this attraction the second I was able. And when Landon hit 40 inches at a doctor’s appointment less than a month before our trip?
Oh man, fireworks were exploding in my head.
It was here! Finally here! Landon had reached the age where we could start taking him on big kid rides! Honestly, the day had taken its sweet time getting there. Landon had turned four the previous April and was in the bottom two percentile for height. Always the shortest in a group of kids his age, Alex and I were beginning to wonder if he’d ever make it on a coaster. (Just to give you something to laugh at: Landon is STILL at 40 inches while his two year old sister is sitting at 34.5 inches. We’ve got bets on when she’s going to loom over him.)
After saying goodbye to Peter Pan, I fetched my mom and Evie and walked them over to the entrance to Big Thunder. She stood there with me long enough to get a Rider Swap then went off to search for a shaded spot to sit and wait.
For all the excitement over being tall enough to ride, nobody checked Landon’s height! Which, honestly, surprised me because as we walked past the checkpoint at the loading docks it didn’t look like Landon was tall enough. We just did a cursory walk past, but I swear it looked like Landon’s head fell under the wooden piece the served as the cutoff. That, in turn, made me a little nervous. I stood in our corral thinking, “Oh gosh, what if he’s too small to ride this? What if he gets hurt?”
To be on the safe side, I got him seated in our car, pulled the lap bar down tight, and proceeded to clamp him down next to me with an iron death grip. Kid wasn’t flying anywhere on my watch!
Landon was feeling particularly grown up and mature during this event. He couldn’t believe he was getting to ride a serious coaster, something his little sister couldn’t do yet, and he was able to spend some time alone with his mom. When we were given the clear to go, Landon turned into a pile of giggles. There were a lot of “whoa’s” and “Ahh’s” and a couple “Oh no’s!” but mostly it was laughter. The kind that comes from the belly and is uncontrollable and 100% infectious. I recorded some of our ride experience so Alex could feel a part of it, and it’s one of my favorite mementos from the trip. My little man, happy and carefree…
However, I did switch to camera mode and attempt to grab some pictures of Landon’s reaction.
And the scenery:
And if there was ever any doubt about where Landon’s fascination of Thunder stemmed from, I’ve got photographic evidence that it was in his genes:
No shame in my Big Thunder love.
It was safe to say Landon was blown away by the attraction.
He loved it so much that he asked me if we could ride it again. I told him we had to go back and check on Nana and Evie, make sure they weren’t laid out on the Frontierland sidewalk from heat exhaustion, which was an acceptable answer. Mainly because Landon needed to tell his Nana all about the awesome ride he just experienced.
The ladies were doing great, all things considered, and I asked my mom if she wanted to use the Rider Swap to take Landon for another turn. I would have let her, obviously, but I’m not ashamed to admit I was happy when she declined and told me to take him again.
Hooray!
We used that bad boy for another round and Landon STILL wasn’t asked to be checked for his height. Not sure what the deal was that morning, but I beginning to worry that the next coaster we went on he would be checked and declined. And I’m sorry, the only thing worse than being turned away from a ride you were hoping to go on is getting to do said ride once, THEN being turned away.
When you tell Landon something, you might as well engrave it in stone because there’s no wavering once he gets a truth in his head. You tell him gym time starts at 10:30 on Thursdays, by gosh you better be in that gymnasium come Thursday morning. (This might or might not have been an issue Alex and I encountered with his teachers this year…If any of you guys watch This is Us, the episode where Randall couldn’t waver from his Halloween route? Yeah, two different family members commented that the scene reminded them of Landon.) My kid isn’t flexible, so if you say he can go on attractions with a 40” height requirement, by golly he can go on them til the end of time.
And yes, I know I could have requested they check his height before riding, but I completely forgot that little fact in the moment. All the Disney magic and pixie dust befuddled my brain and made that idea slip through my head.
It was what it was, Landon got to ride Big Thunder Mountain twice, I’d deal with the potential repercussions later.
During my Fastpass window for Thunder, my mom had a pass for Jungle Cruise. We walked over to Adventureland so my mom could ride, then I found an empty patch of sidewalk near the Magic Carpets to sit and wait.
My mom had packed four of those portable fans and they became lifesavers throughout the week. One of them had Frozen characters on it and the blades lit up when you turned it on, and that constantly became our bargaining chip.
“You want the Frozen fan? Then you better sit in the stroller and hush up.”
During Landon’s first few coaster rides and my mom’s jungle excursion, Evie remained fast asleep in the stroller.
I thought she had slept pretty well the night before, but I guess she needed more rest!
About half an hour later my mom found me and we started talking about lunch options. Typically, we go to Pinocchio’s for pizza but neither of us really wanted to backtrack to Fantasyland. My mom used to love the taco salads at Pecos Bill but Disney changed the menu a few years ago and we hadn’t been back. New dishes always come with a risk, but it was the closest food location and I had heard positive reviews of the new menu. So I convinced my mom to give it a shot, found an empty table in the dining room, and left her with the kids to go order.
Landon got an Uncrustable sandwich, carrot sticks, and applesauce while Evie got Mac and Cheese, carrot sticks, and applesauce. Evie woke up right as I was returning with the food and my choices were met with minimal complaints. Landon doesn’t like applesauce but Evie does, so I just packed his away to give to her as a snack later in the day.
I went with the fajita platter and my mom picked the nachos.
Both food selections were solid. My rice was a little hard, like it needed to be cooked longer, and my tortillas were old. To the point where I really should have taken them back and requested fresher ones, but other than that the dishes were good. My mom didn’t think the nachos were better than the previous taco salad, but she’d also order them again if she needed to.
I understand that wasn’t one of my better lunch descriptions but to be honest, I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to my meal while I was eating. Right after I returned with the trays and noticed Evie stirring in the stroller, I set off in search of a high chair to put her in. I finally found one and brought it to our table but needed to lift it up and over to a freed area of the table.
Easy enough.
I grabbed the seat, raised it up and over Landon’s head…
And right when my hands were occupied my shorts decided to take a lunch break of their own and cut out for a few minutes.
It suddenly became quite breezy in Pecos Bill.
The thing I vividly remember from that moment is my mom’s eyes growing large and her cheeks turning bright red. She went, “Alicia!” and made to stand up but the minute I realized what had happened, I pretended everything was completely normal and finished my arch of the high chair. I shrugged my shoulders, pulled my bottoms back up, and sat down like that kind of blooper happened all the time.
Nothing to see here, folks.
Move along, move along.
I got Evie situated in the chair, opened Landon’s sandwich, and covered my face with my hands as my mom and I burst into laughter. My mom ended up with tears in her eyes as she tried to tell me about this poor gentleman sitting next to us who began looking at the floor, at the ceiling, at the overflowing trashcan. Anywhere but directly ahead of him.
I sure gave the guests in that establishment something to talk about…
What’s a family vacation without a lot of mortification?
Needless to say those shorts got packed away in the bottom of the suitcase and were not used again during the trip.
(Well, they were washed first, THEN packed away. No need to let stinky clothes hang out in my bag all week...)
Up Next…A Guest Appearance…Kind Of
MeghanEmily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
Can't help but agree here!! I hate to let a trip go by without a ride, and it doesn't happen often. I'm so excited for you that you finally got to take Landon!
Ughh. No! It doesn't count! It didn't exist!
Oh poor Landon! My two best friends in school? One was the tallest girl in the class, and the other was the shortest, both by a landslide. The latter friend had quite the struggle, but eventually she hit her growth spurt.
YAY for Landon! I'm so glad he loved it! I had visions of him not being into it, and I just wouldn't have been able to accept that!
Hmmm interesting! I know some little ones like this...
Oooh leverage!
Oh. my. gosh!! I can't believe this! I've been waiting for this story and it didn't disappoint.
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
Wow, look at Landon's smile on Big Thunder Mountain. He is loving that ride. Awesome! (You also were clearly loving that ride ... totally understandable)
Well, sure, my shorts fall down all the time in the middle of restaurants at Disney. No big deal there. Nothing to see.
Well, sure, my shorts fall down all the time in the middle of restaurants at Disney. No big deal there. Nothing to see.
missangelalexis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
Oh my gosh the pics of you and Landon on Big Thunder are adorable! I'm so glad he loved it so much- like mother like son!
Well what an interesting lunch you had!! I can't imagine how mortifying that was! But definitely something you have to look back on and laugh haha
Well what an interesting lunch you had!!
I can't imagine how mortifying that was! But definitely something you have to look back on and laugh haha
luvpoohandcompany
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2009
Sorry dont really have time to comment but the fact that things got "a little breezy" in Peco Bills has me laughing out loud! Well done you on staying chilled.
amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
Oh poor Landon! My two best friends in school? One was the tallest girl in the class, and the other was the shortest, both by a landslide. The latter friend had quite the struggle, but eventually she hit her growth spurt.
YAY for Landon! I'm so glad he loved it! I had visions of him not being into it, and I just wouldn't have been able to accept that!
Oh. my. gosh!! I can't believe this! I've been waiting for this story and it didn't disappoint.
Fortunately, I don't think Landon has ever really stopped and thought about the fact that everyone in his class is taller than him. And Alex is six foot, so maybe Landon will get a growth spurt as a teenage years and match his dad.
The shorts incident was one of my more memorable Disney moments...
I won't lie, I was so happy Landon loved Thunder as much as me. And the best part is that he remembers the ride and will talk about how he wants to go on it again. He was even trying to convince his best friend to give the ride a chance. "Emma, you gotta go on Thunder. It's the best!"
Oh my gosh the pics of you and Landon on Big Thunder are adorable! I'm so glad he loved it so much- like mother like son!
Well what an interesting lunch you had!!
I feel like there are going to be a handful of Disney memories I hold on to forever. So far, Landon seeing the Osborne Lights, riding Small World with my mom, and going on Thunder are my top ones for him. Moments I'll hold in my heart forever.
Guess my shorts decided my trip report was going to get a little stale and took matters into their own hands...
I think at the time, I thought if I acted like nothing had happened people would lose interest and move on quicker. I was afraid to react in case I drew even more attention to myself.
When situations like that arise in life, you gotta find the humor!
amazingact21
Upendi
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
Decided to write a small update mid-week since I have an unusual lull in my schedule. Figured reliving some sunny Disney hours would be the perfect escape!
July 21st, Part 5:
Despite my mom and me choosing a quick service dining location, our meal was anything but fast. Evie is one of the slowest eaters I’ve ever encountered, and the three of us were forced to sit around the table and watch her eat one macaroni noodle at a time. She’s a good eater – loves her vegetables, great dexterity with utensils, hasn’t needed a straw since she turned one – but she has to take tiny bites and chew the food methodically. Ever the cautious one, there’s no rushing my girl. If she had gotten a sandwich like her older brother, I might have been able to get her to eat it on the go, but as it was I wasn’t about to put cheesy noodles in my expensive stroller.
And so we sat around. I texted Alex, my mom texted my dad, Landon sweet talked Evie into letting him have a few bites of her lunch. I was really appreciating the air conditioning and the chance to hydrate with lots of water, but I was also painfully aware that it was our first park day and there was so much to do! I didn’t come to Disney to sit around, I came to ride cherished attractions and hug beloved characters.
Since Evie was taking so long, my mom suggested we skip our third Fastpass, which was Pirates of the Caribbean, but when I told her that I wasn’t sure if we’d have another opportunity to go on it again, she relented and agreed to battle the midday heat a while longer.
Outside, at the entrance to Adventureland, a Cast Member was handing out paper hats to all the kids. I tried to skirt around her – I knew who would end up holding on to those things after about five minutes – but the woman had eagle eyes and handed each kid one of their own before I could intervene.
Smart woman, went straight to the source.
All right, hats were on heads, we were now ready to hit up one last MK ride that morning. The entrance area to Pirates was very busy, but we were still all smiles.
Ah hah! I see you, poor dad in the background, putting the same hat on your kid. Swift CM got you, too…
Hard to tell in the grainy photograph, but the standby for Pirates was sitting at 55 minutes that day:
I’d say that was the joy of vacationing in the summertime, but from what I’ve heard this has become the norm. It’s busy, busy, busy year round now. Kind of makes me scared to see what it’s going to look like come the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
We used our Fastpass and waited in line for about ten minutes before we were sent to the first row in a boat. The drop took Landon by surprise and he got a little scared. Ironically enough, that was the only part Evie liked. Once the cannons started blasting and the fires were set, she began squirming and making a fuss.
Okay. Evie wasn’t a fan of Pirates, either. Good to know.
When we got off the ride, Landon announced that he couldn’t walk another foot. He demanded he get to sit in the stroller or be carried and since that wasn’t about to happen, I gave him the go ahead to use the City Mini. Before the trip, my mom and I had looked at cheap umbrella strollers at the store because we were worried both kids would want to sit at the same time, but they were all kind of ugly and didn’t have any kind of sunscreen on them. So we didn’t get one.
Turns out, we should have.
With Landon taking up the stroller and Evie still reeling from all those pirate shenanigans, I had to pull the baby carrier back out and throw her in it.
Nothing like a toddler on your back and a preschooler needing pushing in the middle of the day to get those calories burning.
Whew!
Handling two little kids at Disney is no joke.
My mom (who was dealing with the backpack and water bottles and paper hats) and I battled our way through all the foot traffic, feeling like salmon swimming upstream due to the fact that we were headed OUT when everyone else was coming IN, and reached the exit of the park. For the return journey to Shades, we were taking the express monorail to the TTC and then hitching a ride on the resort bus, which dropped off and picked up in the charter section.
While waiting for a monorail to arrive, Alex messaged me and asked how my day was going.
I sent him this picture:
And said, “Hot, sweaty, lugging kids around, but absolutely happy. Totally worth the workout.”
Back at Shades of Green, my mom and I needed a caffeine pick me up to survive the rest of the day, so the kids sat down in front of the tv that was playing movies and my mom went to the Starbucks to order us a few drinks.
I have a Starbucks shop on base back home, but I rarely go to it anymore. So getting a specialty coffee drink was a real treat for me. (To put it in perspective, I think I’ve had 2 lattes since this trip.) It was a fun splurge to get one and definitely made me feel like I was “on vacation.”
Treat yo’self!
And never fear, the kids also got a little something.
Whipped cream.
After they finished, I let them enjoy the Disney Jr. channel. We don’t have tv at home, so watching shows with commercials and a predetermined lineup was like a second treat for them.
Meanwhile, I got ahold of a certain someone on FaceTime and my mom somehow snapped a photo of it:
Hello, Alex!!!
That little red smudge on the picture is Alex. He might not have been there in person, but at least he made it in the trip report somehow!
I missed him terribly at the time; Disney just isn’t the same without my hubby, and I was really grateful I got to talk to him for a few minutes. I relayed our morning activities, tried not to get too excited about Landon’s coaster adventure lest I make Alex more homesick than he already was, and told him I wished we could take a trip without the kids.
Disney trips are a whole new level of magical with Landon and Evie, but I do miss the days where it was just Alex and me conquering the parks.
One day…
At some point, Evie got bored with whatever was airing (I think it was the Lion Guard) and started playing with some stickers.
I remember trying to hide one of the Moana stickers, because at home we have a little box with all the different stickers we have collected over the years at Disney. There’s everything from the Contemporary Resort to the ferryboat to Stitch as Santa Claus in the container, and I wanted to add Moana once we got back home. But alas, Evie discovered every last one and used them all.
Whatever makes her happy, I suppose.
The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and relaxing. We thought about going down to the pool but a storm moved through and canceled those plans. So we just let our bodies prepare itself for another few hours in the parks.
Up Next…You Can’t Play Hard to Get, Girl
July 21st, Part 5:
Despite my mom and me choosing a quick service dining location, our meal was anything but fast. Evie is one of the slowest eaters I’ve ever encountered, and the three of us were forced to sit around the table and watch her eat one macaroni noodle at a time. She’s a good eater – loves her vegetables, great dexterity with utensils, hasn’t needed a straw since she turned one – but she has to take tiny bites and chew the food methodically. Ever the cautious one, there’s no rushing my girl. If she had gotten a sandwich like her older brother, I might have been able to get her to eat it on the go, but as it was I wasn’t about to put cheesy noodles in my expensive stroller.
And so we sat around. I texted Alex, my mom texted my dad, Landon sweet talked Evie into letting him have a few bites of her lunch. I was really appreciating the air conditioning and the chance to hydrate with lots of water, but I was also painfully aware that it was our first park day and there was so much to do! I didn’t come to Disney to sit around, I came to ride cherished attractions and hug beloved characters.
Since Evie was taking so long, my mom suggested we skip our third Fastpass, which was Pirates of the Caribbean, but when I told her that I wasn’t sure if we’d have another opportunity to go on it again, she relented and agreed to battle the midday heat a while longer.
Outside, at the entrance to Adventureland, a Cast Member was handing out paper hats to all the kids. I tried to skirt around her – I knew who would end up holding on to those things after about five minutes – but the woman had eagle eyes and handed each kid one of their own before I could intervene.
Smart woman, went straight to the source.
All right, hats were on heads, we were now ready to hit up one last MK ride that morning. The entrance area to Pirates was very busy, but we were still all smiles.
Ah hah! I see you, poor dad in the background, putting the same hat on your kid. Swift CM got you, too…
Hard to tell in the grainy photograph, but the standby for Pirates was sitting at 55 minutes that day:
I’d say that was the joy of vacationing in the summertime, but from what I’ve heard this has become the norm. It’s busy, busy, busy year round now. Kind of makes me scared to see what it’s going to look like come the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
We used our Fastpass and waited in line for about ten minutes before we were sent to the first row in a boat. The drop took Landon by surprise and he got a little scared. Ironically enough, that was the only part Evie liked. Once the cannons started blasting and the fires were set, she began squirming and making a fuss.
Okay. Evie wasn’t a fan of Pirates, either. Good to know.
When we got off the ride, Landon announced that he couldn’t walk another foot. He demanded he get to sit in the stroller or be carried and since that wasn’t about to happen, I gave him the go ahead to use the City Mini. Before the trip, my mom and I had looked at cheap umbrella strollers at the store because we were worried both kids would want to sit at the same time, but they were all kind of ugly and didn’t have any kind of sunscreen on them. So we didn’t get one.
Turns out, we should have.
With Landon taking up the stroller and Evie still reeling from all those pirate shenanigans, I had to pull the baby carrier back out and throw her in it.
Nothing like a toddler on your back and a preschooler needing pushing in the middle of the day to get those calories burning.
Whew!
Handling two little kids at Disney is no joke.
My mom (who was dealing with the backpack and water bottles and paper hats) and I battled our way through all the foot traffic, feeling like salmon swimming upstream due to the fact that we were headed OUT when everyone else was coming IN, and reached the exit of the park. For the return journey to Shades, we were taking the express monorail to the TTC and then hitching a ride on the resort bus, which dropped off and picked up in the charter section.
While waiting for a monorail to arrive, Alex messaged me and asked how my day was going.
I sent him this picture:
And said, “Hot, sweaty, lugging kids around, but absolutely happy. Totally worth the workout.”
Back at Shades of Green, my mom and I needed a caffeine pick me up to survive the rest of the day, so the kids sat down in front of the tv that was playing movies and my mom went to the Starbucks to order us a few drinks.
I have a Starbucks shop on base back home, but I rarely go to it anymore. So getting a specialty coffee drink was a real treat for me. (To put it in perspective, I think I’ve had 2 lattes since this trip.) It was a fun splurge to get one and definitely made me feel like I was “on vacation.”
Treat yo’self!
And never fear, the kids also got a little something.
Whipped cream.
After they finished, I let them enjoy the Disney Jr. channel. We don’t have tv at home, so watching shows with commercials and a predetermined lineup was like a second treat for them.
Meanwhile, I got ahold of a certain someone on FaceTime and my mom somehow snapped a photo of it:
Hello, Alex!!!
That little red smudge on the picture is Alex. He might not have been there in person, but at least he made it in the trip report somehow!
I missed him terribly at the time; Disney just isn’t the same without my hubby, and I was really grateful I got to talk to him for a few minutes. I relayed our morning activities, tried not to get too excited about Landon’s coaster adventure lest I make Alex more homesick than he already was, and told him I wished we could take a trip without the kids.
Disney trips are a whole new level of magical with Landon and Evie, but I do miss the days where it was just Alex and me conquering the parks.
One day…
At some point, Evie got bored with whatever was airing (I think it was the Lion Guard) and started playing with some stickers.
I remember trying to hide one of the Moana stickers, because at home we have a little box with all the different stickers we have collected over the years at Disney. There’s everything from the Contemporary Resort to the ferryboat to Stitch as Santa Claus in the container, and I wanted to add Moana once we got back home. But alas, Evie discovered every last one and used them all.
Whatever makes her happy, I suppose.
The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and relaxing. We thought about going down to the pool but a storm moved through and canceled those plans. So we just let our bodies prepare itself for another few hours in the parks.
Up Next…You Can’t Play Hard to Get, Girl
MeghanEmily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
The never-ending struggle in the summer!!
Wow! You're a tough cookie! But absolutely worth it to be at WDW, I'm sure.
And never fear, the kids also got a little something.
Whipped cream.
Good choice!This is a good look for you!
Sneaky girl! I like that you've kept all your Disney stickers though.
natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
Just arrived and will be spending this morning getting caught up.
What a fantastic introduction!
I can understand why this picture is a favorite. As always, I want to extend thanks to your family for your sacrifices.
Can't wait to read all about your adventures. You have such a great, honest, fascinating way of sharing the details of your trips.
What a fantastic introduction!
I can understand why this picture is a favorite. As always, I want to extend thanks to your family for your sacrifices.
Can't wait to read all about your adventures. You have such a great, honest, fascinating way of sharing the details of your trips.
natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
Very impressed with your travel day, especially your attitude. You encountered a few moments of difficulty, but it sounds like you faced them without too many headaches.
You have some great info and tips for people traveling internationally with little ones.
I'm glad you had a lot of time to recuperate with fun family time.
Wait, what?!?
I haven't read comments, so I don't know if you have explained the lion spraying story. Wow! Um, exactly how close do you get to the lions?
Awwww on the picture of Evie with the goat.
I'm glad you had a nice last day at the beach, even if not quite everyone was on board.
Congrats to Alex on his promotion!!!
You have some great info and tips for people traveling internationally with little ones.
I'm glad you had a lot of time to recuperate with fun family time.
We went to a local zoo, where poor Evie got sprayed by a lion.
Wait, what?!?
I haven't read comments, so I don't know if you have explained the lion spraying story. Wow! Um, exactly how close do you get to the lions?
Awwww on the picture of Evie with the goat.
I'm glad you had a nice last day at the beach, even if not quite everyone was on board.
Congrats to Alex on his promotion!!!
natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
Arrival-
I love reading about Shades of Green since I don't have any direct experience with that resort.
Glad you made it to the Poly without getting drenched. The pork sandwich sounds like a great choice.
Boo on the problems you experienced with Guest Services. And with having the MK in Landon's sight. So close and yet so far!
************************************************************************************
This is a great entry picture! Love the joy on Landon's face and yours.
So sorry to hear about Evie's spill. Not a great start.
Although I did LOL at this description!
I love reading about Shades of Green since I don't have any direct experience with that resort.
Glad you made it to the Poly without getting drenched. The pork sandwich sounds like a great choice.
Boo on the problems you experienced with Guest Services. And with having the MK in Landon's sight. So close and yet so far!
************************************************************************************
This is a great entry picture! Love the joy on Landon's face and yours.
The three party members that had tickets got through the tapstiles without issue and soon we were all walking onto Main Street.
So sorry to hear about Evie's spill. Not a great start.
Although I did LOL at this description!
natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
Loved the descriptions of your first few attractions in the Magic Kingdom.
Teacups- hilarious! I'm glad that Landon's change in attitude for the ride didn't result in a tangible outcome.
Too funny that Evie loved the teacups and Dumbo, but Little Mermaid, not so much. Poor thing! It IS awfully dark in there.
(For my son Ben, it was the stretching room in the Haunted Mansion that scared him. The ride was ok, but I don't think he liked the other guests who would recite the monologue in the room and then scream when the lights went out. For a couple of years we had to ask to skip the stretching room)
The interaction with Ariel in her grotto is priceless.
Teacups- hilarious! I'm glad that Landon's change in attitude for the ride didn't result in a tangible outcome.
Too funny that Evie loved the teacups and Dumbo, but Little Mermaid, not so much. Poor thing! It IS awfully dark in there.
(For my son Ben, it was the stretching room in the Haunted Mansion that scared him. The ride was ok, but I don't think he liked the other guests who would recite the monologue in the room and then scream when the lights went out. For a couple of years we had to ask to skip the stretching room)
The interaction with Ariel in her grotto is priceless.
Share this page
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
